It appears that Oprah Winfrey has been designated the scapegoat for the for the Weight Watchers stock price downfall.
As we reported in the Fall of last year, the entertainment mogul and Weight Watchers came together to work out a deal that netted Oprah a 10% stake in the company for $43.2 million. She also joined the board of directors. Naturally she became the brand’s spokesperson and of course went on its diet.
Obviously the brand and just about everyone else was expecting impressive results after her endorsement.
At first it looked like the master plan was working … the company’s stock soaring from $6.79 per share in October to $26.61 a month later.
However, on Thursday, the bottom kinda fell out with a reported 21% drop in fourth-quarter revenue. Uh oh. That sent shares of Weight Watchers tumbling more than 28%, down to $11.25 a share.
That devaluation cost Winfrey $27 million on paper, though the share price is still above what she bought them for originally.
Hmm, has Lady O lost her mojo? Who knows. Maybe if she still had her daily talk show it’d be a different story. Maybe.
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